Chapter Text
PART 1 - KINDLING BEGINS
Its official. Long drives totally suck when you are the only one driving. Enjoying the beats on the radio only get you so far. There is also the fact that he was coming back from a really irritating conversation with his parents, so he is unable to appreciate the views he is passing by so carelessly.
Imagine that, the Harringtons finally come somewhere close to town, staying in freaking Indiana but even then decide not to drop by their precious residence in Hawkins. They force him to make the 90 minute drive so that he can be insulted and berated by his father in person, live. As usual, Steve's mother decides to say mum throughout all of this save for a few sympathetic looks she thinks he doesn't notice.
At the end of all of this, when he tried to get back early, by sheer absurdity he gets dragged into a movie set of all places as a stunt extra. With who? An indie film crew with an up and coming stunt team led by a crafty man with a big smile named Levy. The cliff notes is that Steve basically found himself mistaken for one of their regulars (doesn't that hit his nerves). What follows is Steve surprisingly holding his own on randomly improvised fisticuffs and barrel rolls over bonnets, eerily reminding him of doing something similar in a certain junkyard.
"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!"
"Steve! Abort! Abort!"
Yeah No, not in the mood for thinking of that, lets at least try to enjoy the weather of the drive (and ignore how weird it feels to have the car so empty, when did it start feeling so odd.)
At least some good came out of it. He got a much needed boost in confidence after the stunt master, Levy he thinks the name is, sang praises about his adaptability and physical fitness for a young man. He even went to the extent of suggesting that he give a shot for the movie business
A younger Steve might have preened like a lion at that statement. Even now there is a part of him that is enamored with the possibility of building his way way up to recognition among casual film watchers. Probably makes good use of his looks and physique.
But the remainder of his spirit feels overwhelming reluctance, the vain nature of it all reminding him a bit too much of the persona he embodied in the hallways of Hawkins high. Nope, there is no going back to that little rabbit hole. He feels finally on track of maybe becoming a decent person by the end of it all. He is going through worksheets at a brisk pace. He had thrown out his cigarette box after the breakup with Nancy, (Its Bullshit) and he honestly cannot remember when he last took a swig of liquor. Eh probably for the best.
So he had politely declined any major commitments, but maybe he hasn't lost all his charm because he apparently made a good impression. Levy decided to pay him a bit of extra than promised and even took his number down in case they ever had something small and indie like this in Indiana again. What does it say about him that he was bale to gel with this crew as if they hadn't met just that morning. It was a quiet camaraderie that contrasted with the cold air with his parents.
Finding a quaint little diner on route back to Hawkins, he decides to stop for an early dinner. As he keeps poking at his mac and cheese, he thinks about the not so smooth job interview a few days back.
"Three favorite movies. Go."
Robin barely hesitates "Uh…The Apartment, Hidden Fortress, Children of Paradise."
Those don't even sound like movies to him but eh who was he to say anything. Keith immediately zeroes into him
"You, go."
OK Maybe he should have used this time to actually think if an answer.
"Favorite movies?"
"Did I stutter?" Wow does he already look unimpressed
"Uh… Animal House, for sure."
I ignore Robin's scoff as I try to rack my brain for more names
"Eyes on me, Harrington."
Jesus this dude needs to chill, oh wait!
"Star Wars!" Dustin would be happy to hear that
"A New Hope?"
"A new what-now?"
Keith's face finally shows a change in emotions heading towards mind numbing irritation. "Which Star Wars?"
"The one with the teddy bears. Duh."
I can see I am immediately losing points again from both parties. For gods sake how was he supposed to remember what they are called, something like woks? His mind latches onto the trippy memory of him and Robin barely making sense of a movie whose plot kept jumping around.
"Oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out." He keeps snapping his fingers trying to remember any other details from that fever dream of a sequence. "The one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he’s trying to bang his mom."
And he is back to unimpressed. Steve doesn't dare to look at Robin since he doesn't want whatever remaining senseless confidence he has to waver even further.
Keith seems to have a made a decision. He turns to Robin "You start Monday." Then turns to Steve "You start never."
And the failures keep racking up, wonder what his former classmates would think after hearing that Steve couldn't even be qualified to get a job running a video rental store.
Robin seems to have other ideas "Will you just... Will you give us a minute?"
"Why?"
"Steve."
She has the look that says 'Trust me dude' so he nods and moves to an aisle to just browse through the collection. He can see the people outside going about their daily routine, already moving past the Mall Fire incident as it was dubbed locally. He would be just like them, didn't he do that the last two times as well. Why does he feel like this time it might not be so simple.
He can faintly hear Keith call him a douchebag, reminding him again of how out of touch he is with whatever he apparently did to his peers while he was in school strutting around as King Steve. In the end maybe he deserves a bit of karma, didn't Robin also confess about how big an asshole I was back then. Maybe this is part of the payback the universe seems to slowly send in installments. He still wonders how he ended up somehow leaving this entire debacle with one good result of becoming friends with Robin.
In the end Robin somehow convinced Keith to take him in as well so he and Robin have been familiarized as employees for a good two weeks at this point.
If you asked Steve before all of this happened, that he would be best friends with a band nerd who seems to spout random trivia at a pace that can get rappers jealous, he would have laughed in their face. Even worse if he found out it was after being rejected by her. To be fair as far as rejections are considered, Robin has the best reason ever. But he genuinely cannot believe the level of connection he seemed to have developed with the prodigal Buckley that he cannot imagine going forward without being at her side. It also doesn't alleviate the small sense of guilt that he ended up dragging her into the entire business with the Upside Down, despite how she seemed OK with it.
He finishes his meal and as he waits to pay at the counter, he notices a few cookies for a sale. He blinks before deciding to buy a box. He exits the diner and gets back into his BMW, deciding to rummage around near the backseat and keep the cookies safe. That's when he finds it. A brown field jacket with a brass-ish zipper.
Hopper's jacket.
Steve honestly cannot recall how it ended up in his car at any point during the Star court fiasco. The same that goes for the other little trinkets he finds like a wicked treasure hunt - A pair of shades, a standard notepad, wallet among few other stuff. He decides not to question it, it doesn't matter. It just cements the fact into his head that Hopper is gone.
Despite all the misgivings he had with the man from when was more of a brat, Steve only had immense respect for how Hopper stepped up to help Joyce and the Town. He respected how he stepped up to take care of El and essentially be her father. It speaks to his moral and mental strength considerably. Now there is a void in Hawkins that can be perceived by only those who cared to.
El should have this, but she is long gone with the Byers. So apparently that leaves it with him. But what was he supposed to do with it. He wasn't anywhere as close to him as the others were, so he felt there a certain sense of unnaturalness with the jacket being in his hands. It didn't seem right to just give it away randomly too.
Sirens pass by.
Steve immediately stiffens and looks out to the road alert. His eyes land on a lone ambulance passing by.
He is standing by the ambulance, seeing the kids absolutely distraught at the carnage. Slowly the parents appear one by one, holding onto their children tightly like they might slip through grasp like sand. He sees Nancy and Mike go with Mrs. Wheeler and Jonathon comforting Mrs. Byers. He sees Lucas and Erica being fussed over and Dustin being wrapped in a death hug by Mrs. Henderson. He sees Susan Hargrove hug Max as she cries over Billy's body, now on a mobile bed. The stepdad was standing nearby, stone faced.
"Dingus?"
He slowly turns to Robin at his side, who is looking at him with concern. He can see Mr. Buckley not far back.
"Robin? Isn't that your dad there, you know you should rest"
"says the dude with the bloodied face. Did they even check on you for that?"
"They did and apparently I am not in immediate danger so I'll just wait until they get free." That has to be the smoothest lie he has ever told. The medics hadn't actually noticed him yet, to be fair none of the others in their group seems to have noticed either so he isn't that shocked.
"What about your parents? Aren't they coming?"
He shrugs dismissively, internally regretting it as he feels some bodily ache he hadn't noticed earlier in the chaos. "Not in town, I'll just get a lift from someone here once I am examined. You go ahead and rest. Mr. Buckley over there might just crash from distress if you keep dawdling."
Wow the lies are coming smooth as ever, he should probably get into near concussions more often if it helps like this. Robin hesitantly nods and leaves to go back with her dad, not before giving him a tight hug that make his ribs scream inside. He awkwardly pats her back and gives a finger salute as she leaves.
An hour later, no one notices his stupid decision of breaking into his BMW and driving off without the medical check, it can wait until the morning right?
He shakes away the daze and sighs. His memories from that day were a bit fuzzy but from whatever he remembered, he thankfully hadn't gotten into any new accident after the night. He even checked into the hospital the next morning without anyone the wiser, just for the safer side.
But now he looks at Hopper's belongings again. What does he do?
He thinks of the siren and then of the department with his chair that should be empty for now. He takes a deep breath, his decision made. He merges back on the highway, heading for Hawkins PD.